OCEANSIDE, Calif. — In Oceanside, there are 16 towers that are staffed by seasonal and full-time lifeguards. But when it comes to seeking new lifeguards to help with the upcoming busy summer season, departments across San Diego County say they aren't seeing nearly as many applicants as they have in years past.
"We are down, we do have some vacancies, about a dozen right now,” said Oceanside Fire Chief Rick Robinson.
In need of more lifeguards in the city of Oceanside, Chief Rick Robinson says in his 45-year career, he's never seen so few applicants.
"There was a time when you would have one or two openings and you would have 100 or more applicants, and today, we might have five to seven openings, and we’re only getting about 30 applicants and not enough to fill a full academy,” Robinson said.
Oceanside has 85 seasonal lifeguards and 11 full time, but positions are always opening up.
Caden McCormies has been an Oceanside lifeguard for four years, the 20-year-old Fallbrook native who grew up playing water polo says he thinks staffing shortages are due to people thinking lifeguarding is just a summer job.
"I remember growing up, I never really had a clue about how lifeguards operate, and I still talk to my own friends and family members who are surprised we actually do staff lifeguards year-round. It is a pretty rigorous activity, as far as swimming, but this is one of the most amazing jobs I’ve ever had, and I have no intention of leaving it,” said McCormies, who is also an EMT.
The City of San Diego Lifeguards also has staffing shortages.
"We hired more this year than we do normally, so we could have the retention,” said Lifeguard Chief James Gartland.
San Diego Lifeguards added an additional regional lifeguard academy in order to recruit more candidates.
“We planned for it, and we took some steps to try and compensate for the shortage in the labor market out there, so we extended our recruitment into the summer, which we normally do not do," Gartland said.
Of the city's 300 lifeguards, 110 are full time and 190 are seasonal. Anyone can try out to be a lifeguard who is 18 years old and up and can swim 500 meters in under ten minutes to start.
Lt. Gartland says passing the 80-hour academy typically doesn’t guarantee you became a lifeguard, but due to the shortage, he says, "I'll tell you in this job market, you're guaranteed to get a job."
Beyond the beach, the City of San Diego pools are also facing a lifeguard shortage with 75 positions open. Supervising Public Information Officer Tim Graham of the City's Parks and Recreation department emailed that the city is actively seeking applicants for pool guards with their Red Cross First Aid Certificate. The open positions include Pool Guard 1 and Pool Guard 2. The jobs pay from $15.33 to $17.59.
The Parks and Rec Career Fair will be on Friday, June 24 at the Balboa Park Club.
"We have a full team, and the beaches will be safe this summer,” Gartland said. With lifeguards in need, concerns over whether our area beaches will be safe are high.
Oceanside Beaches see four million visitors a year. Lifeguards there do over 2,500 rescues. Chief Robinson says his staff will find a way to keep its lifeguard towers open.
"If a tower can't be open for some reason, we post signs up to let swimmers know it is unguarded,” Robinson said.
WATCH RELATED: San Diego Lifeguards enforcing boating safety (May 2022).